Re:Gender works to end gender inequity by exposing root causes and advancing research-informed action. Working with multiple sectors and disciplines, we are shaping a world that demands fairness across difference.

pay equity

In his recent LinkedIn post, PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) Bob Moritz, Chairman and Senior Partner, shares steps CEOs can take to tackle the challenge of diversifying corporate leadership and closing the gap. Bob, one of our 2013 “Making a Difference for Women” Award recipients, highlights accountability, inclusivity, and awareness, all of which seem to be common sense. However, it is in implementation of these principles, or lack thereof, where some companies miss the mark and PwC leads. Bob acknowledges that the solution goes beyond women’s ambition, requiring work by institutions and individuals, BOTH men and women. We all need to work together, not just to discuss what needs to be done, but to take action.

A study published in the journal Organization Science finds that when managers have to explain their pay-raise decisions to employees, they tend to give more money to men than they do to women -- even if the workers' performance is equal.

A new study in the journal Organization Science finds that when managers have to explain their pay-raise decisions to employees, they give more money to men than they do to women -- even if the workers' performance is equal.

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In the study, originally done for Emory University, 184 managers were given a set amount of money that they needed to distribute among employees with identical skills and responsibilities. Half of the managers were told they would need to justify their decisions to their employees, and half were told there would be no discussion afterwards.

Unfortunately, women can't overcome an initially low raise by negotiating because the corporate budget has already been spent. In many companies, each manager receives a budget for raises that is then divided among employees. All workers are notified at the same time (or over a very short time period) of their increases. Because every penny has already been allotted, there is no money left to give to someone who questions a small raise. Managers won't typically go to an employee with a higher raise and say, "Oops! Jane needs a few more bucks, so we're taking a percent off your raise and giving it to her!"

The only way a raise can go through at this point is for an exception to be granted. And that requires a lot of hard work on the part of the manager and (most likely) the manager's manager. HR and senior management must be convinced that this additional raise, outside of the spent budget, is worth the money. And managers, who are cognizant of their own reputation, will try to do this without stating that they made a mistake in allocating raise money.

In this recession, women’s earnings are more vital than ever to their families' and our country’s economic security. Yet women still have had to work more than three months into this year to match the income of men in 2010.Learn more about how the wage gap affects you: Use the map here to download an equal pay fact sheet for your state.

Despite efforts to equalize earnings, a persistent wage gap exists between women and men. Recent Census data indicates that women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. This gap is more pronounced for women of color with Black women earning 61 cents and Hispanic women earning 52 cents for every dollar paid to a white male. The negative impact of the gender-based wage gap is exacerbated for women of color, who face lower lifetime earnings overall, occupational segmentation, and unequal access to assets and other wealth builders.

As more women become primary wage earners for households across the country, eliminating the pay gap becomes even more crucial to sustaining healthy and prosperous communities. Aligning the income distribution with the gender composition of the workforce is particularly needed now in these tough economic times to ensure economic security, opportunity, and prosperity for all.

As we've discussed here on The Real Deal, Tuesday was Equal Pay Day, a day established in 1996 to raise awareness around the persistent gap between men's and women's wages. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, April 12th "symbolizes how far into 2011 women must work to earn what men earned in 2010."

Linda Basch wrote in The Huffington Post, "it's time to stop using our economic doldrums as an excuse for indifference and inaction. For how many more years are we going to dutifully report on the stagnant gender wage gap?" Click here to read Linda's full op-ed where she discusses what we're missing by not fully investing in women.

Please join us for a “day before Equal Pay Day” luncheon, and learn about gender pay differences in law, engineering, academia and public relations. The panel will provide fresh evidence of pay inequities across these professions, even industries dominated by women. The program will also share new legislative and policy ideas for how to promote fair pay. AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE will moderate the briefing while Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at AAUW, will address next steps in the fight for pay equity.

Hosted By the American Association of University Women (AAUW)

Panelists will include:

John W. Curtis, PhD, Director of Research and Public Policy, American Association of University Professors

In 2001, female employees at Wal-Mart filed a class action sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that female employees of Wal-Mart are denied advancement and training opportunities, paid less than men for the same or comparable work, steered to lower wage departments, subjected to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against when they attempt to address sex discrimination.

On December 6, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether 1.5 million female employees of Wal-Mart can pursue job discrimination claims in one suit or whether they’ll have to split up and file against individual stores. The case—the largest employment class-action suit in the nation’s history—will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 29, 2011.